At the end of the day, Greg Mortenson built a school in Korphe (AND KAHNE!), and was inspired by the kindness of the Pakistani people and what he experienced in his travels. GM has acknowledged that D.O. Relin conflated some of his experiences so the book was NOT 600 pages long. That said, the entire book writing experience was frustrating, and no one was entirely happy with the end result. GM sought a new writing partner for his second foray (if he was so into conning people - why change partners after the TCOT success?). JK's stories have also have been strongly contested as to their veracity AND he has damaged reputations of respected men in the past, which is very troubling. He also gave his approval to a film of Into Thin Air that depicted him as a HERO (talk about a beautiful lie) - although he fully admits he was far from that (in his tent while others saved lives and took risks on the mountain that night). IF THE POT WAS EVER calling the kettle black - this is the instance. I don't know how Krakauer can sleep at night after HE HAS PUBLICLY HUMILIATED yet another member of the climbing "tribe"... No one is denying the financial difficulties at CAI. They should and will be dealt with. Any fines should be paid, any incorrect procedures, changed. Many organizations go through difficult growth periods. Mortenson has never claimed to be above reproach, and overzealousness can be harmful as well as a driving force. This organization needs to clean house - and they will...
Who needs an American legal system when assumed guilt and character assassination is the lawless nature of the public appetite? Mr. Krakauer makes his living taking shots at all things heroic and creative - easier to be an "armchair humanitarian" than the real thing... Everything he says should be taken with a bucket of salt.
See link below: http://www.salon.com/wlust/feature/1998/08/14featurea.html (11 paragraphs down)
Thank you, 60 Minutes for the rerun! Just in case we missed this the first time :)? I just don't understand why Mr. Krakauer's "concerns" weren't just aA PART of your story - rather than THE ENTIRE story. Seems like 60 minutes was used as an infomercial for a rival writer's "expose". Puzzling. Quite a few professional egos at work here - and the Af/Pak girls lose.
Nice work. I especially like how Krakauer persuades us that he is "fireman" rather than "arsonist". :) !
I just find it interesting that neither Jon Krakauer nor 60 Minutes are experts in working (successfully) in third world countries. For that matter - neither is the American Institute of Philanthropy. Why weren't NGO experts consulted? This is a volatile, war-torn country that probably doesn't adhere to most first-world comparisons.
Jon Krakauer is not even an investigative journalist - he writes bestsellers. His past works that blend fact and fiction have been targeted for inaccuracies... This seems like "half a report" based on what negatives Mr. Krakauer could collect and compile - basically to get "Three Cups of Tea" off the NYT bestseller list?... Regardless of the consequences.
Why did this air right before Mr. Mortenson went in for heart surgery? it has been a known fact that he has been ill. Apparently the timing was very important to the Byliner.com launch for Mr. Krakauer's expose...
Why weren't Mr. Krakauer's motives questioned AT ALL? What happened here?
The answer to Mr. Krakauer's allegation is quite simple. All that has to be done is to have an independent auditor check CAI's financial statements and Mr. Mortenson's records. Have this done publicly and publish the information publicly and that should be all you need. Why Mr. Krakauer would want to get TCOT off the NYT bestsellers list I wouldn't understand. It seems a thin motivation from someone who has himself written a number of bestsellers. It can be understood that running an organization like CAI must not be easy and keeping track of this kind of money must be a huge challenge. However, having security people ask a reporter to leave also seems fairly defensive. Don't you also think that the people who donate their money with the idea that it is going to help people have the right to be assured that it is? Don't you think that they deserve some accountability?
That's a fallacious comparison, Wondering. A media organization does not claim to do any of those things, nor does Krakauer (who later retracted some of his claims made in "Into Thin Air"), whereas Mr. Mortenson does.
I am undeniably upset that Greg saw it necessary to tell half truths and blatantly lie in order to receive donations. The truth alone would have generated millions, but the broken trust will cost him much more.
Krakauer clearly accredits Mortenson for going to Afghanistan and building school (definetely not the amount Mortenson exaggerated though). The small villages in Afghanistan that Mortenson built schools in barely have a large enough population to fill 3, 6 or 11 schools that were supposedly built in certain villages, meaning that 1 or even 2 schools would be enough. He did good by building schools, but not funding them properly and using most of the Central Asia Institute funds to promote his book is clearly for Mortenson's personal gain. Being an Afghan, I feel as though he had used the Afghan people and other villagers from Pakistan to get publicity. By telling people that he was kidnapped by the taliban and then years later it is found that they were not taliban at all is just ridiculous. Using a real issue such as the low percentage of literacy amoung girls in Afghanistan (post-taliban) is a serious issue that needs to be tackled hands on...not paraded around by someone who will use it as a main publicity stunt. He probably really doesn't know how many schools were built...I hope this issue is taken care of properly and not just ignored
It's too bad for Mortenson that his CAI hasn't performed up to Jon Krakauer's standards. (whatever!?#$@) BTW - has Jon K ever built a school -- or dealt with the locals in the Af/Pak region on a personal level? He is a competing bestselling author and has killed GM's 3CoT book sales. Worked out nicely, eh?
A little history: JK admitted that he is "not an expert at high altitude climbing" - yet harshly condemned the choices of Anatoli Bourkeev - the "Tiger Woods" of high altitude climbing for his actions on Everest in the '96 disaster. Bourkeev went on to receive a prestigious climbing award for his HEROIC actions that day (& Mr. K has not retracted one comment to my knowledge). Interesting... So, why were Jon Krakauer's possible motives for this public attack of GM not questioned ONCE by any real journalists (esp. 60M?)? He disarms us by saying he is "not the expert" and "GM has been very successful building schools and should get credit for that" - then he proceeds to surgically dissect the very experts he claims to "respect". But then, controversy sells, he has probably discovered...
As an Afghan, you should know the area is in a constant state of flux. I am puzzled by the negative piling on in this country... Mortenson deserves the RESPECT of being able to present his case fully. Krakauer conveniently presented his expose at a time when GM's health was at it's lowest point (open heart surgery, anyone?). Again, nice work. And people admire him for it. WOW. No questions asked.
Hi, I have worked in Afghanistan and wanted to share an article on, "One Experience & One Drop in the Ocean' to discuss Dr. Greg Mortenson's work in Afghanistan. It also has some picutres from the field but I dont know how to send it to this blog because it requires 4999 charactors, while my article contains a detailed information so that exceeds the limit. Could anybody suggest me how to send it to this blog? Or any other e-mail address for publication. I would really appreciate it.
The book was written five years ago by a co-author, based on recollections 15 years prior(?) and heavily edited (as most are). This was also Mortenson's first foray into publishing - I'm sure he was taking advice and learning the ropes. Some people self-publish because they don't want publishers changing/rearranging things, condensing and/or adding emphasis to make the story more readable. From what I understand, it doesn't seem much different (though not as drastic maybe) as how Hollywood feels they can "change" things (and even endings?!) to suit the "marketplace". The book was written before Mortenson was even on the map - after it caught on, I guess he could have corrected some details of the narrative at his speaking engagements - but condensing events seems fairly common - unless you want the thing to be 600 pages long... There is a big difference between saying you went to Pakistan once (instead of three times!). Krakauer makes it seem like Mortenson didn't go at all... and then claimed to. Check out Jon Krakauer's own history of "storytelling vs. fact" in his books if you get a chance - it's VERY interesting...
Central Asia Institute has been dropped from a lawsuit filed last month against the organization and its executive director, Greg Mortenson.
The amended complaint was filed in federal court in Missoula, Montana on Friday, June 17. It is actually the second formal amendment of the complaint in the case, and eliminates both CAI and one of the original plaintiffs, Jean Price, from the lawsuit. "We are bolstered by this news. CAI's mission is better served without trial lawyers and the expense of litigation," said Anne Beyersdorfer, CAI's interim executive director.
Mortenson, who is under doctors' orders to rest following open-heart surgery earlier this month, was not available for comment on the development.
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Who needs an American legal system when assumed guilt and character assassination is the lawless nature of the public appetite? Mr. Krakauer makes his living taking shots at all things heroic and creative - easier to be an "armchair humanitarian" than the real thing... Everything he says should be taken with a bucket of salt.
See link below:
http://www.salon.com/wlust/feature/1998/08/14featurea.html
(11 paragraphs down)
Thank you, 60 Minutes for the rerun! Just in case we missed this the first time :)? I just don't understand why Mr. Krakauer's "concerns" weren't just aA PART of your story - rather than THE ENTIRE story. Seems like 60 minutes was used as an infomercial for a rival writer's "expose". Puzzling. Quite a few professional egos at work here - and the Af/Pak girls lose.
Nice work. I especially like how Krakauer persuades us that he is "fireman" rather than "arsonist". :) !
Jon Krakauer is not even an investigative journalist - he writes bestsellers. His past works that blend fact and fiction have been targeted for inaccuracies... This seems like "half a report" based on what negatives Mr. Krakauer could collect and compile - basically to get "Three Cups of Tea" off the NYT bestseller list?... Regardless of the consequences.
Why did this air right before Mr. Mortenson went in for heart surgery? it has been a known fact that he has been ill. Apparently the timing was very important to the Byliner.com launch for Mr. Krakauer's expose...
Why weren't Mr. Krakauer's motives questioned AT ALL? What happened here?
Why Mr. Krakauer would want to get TCOT off the NYT bestsellers list I wouldn't understand. It seems a thin motivation from someone who has himself written a number of bestsellers.
It can be understood that running an organization like CAI must not be easy and keeping track of this kind of money must be a huge challenge. However, having security people ask a reporter to leave also seems fairly defensive.
Don't you also think that the people who donate their money with the idea that it is going to help people have the right to be assured that it is? Don't you think that they deserve some accountability?
BTW - has Jon K ever built a school -- or dealt with the locals in the Af/Pak region on a personal level?
He is a competing bestselling author and has killed GM's 3CoT book sales. Worked out nicely, eh?
A little history: JK admitted that he is "not an expert at high altitude climbing" - yet harshly condemned the choices of Anatoli Bourkeev - the "Tiger Woods" of high altitude climbing for his actions on Everest in the '96 disaster. Bourkeev went on to receive a prestigious climbing award for his HEROIC actions that day (& Mr. K has not retracted one comment to my knowledge). Interesting... So, why were Jon Krakauer's possible motives for this public attack of GM not questioned ONCE by any real journalists (esp. 60M?)? He disarms us by saying he is "not the expert" and "GM has been very successful building schools and should get credit for that" - then he proceeds to surgically dissect the very experts he claims to "respect". But then, controversy sells, he has probably discovered...
As an Afghan, you should know the area is in a constant state of flux. I am puzzled by the negative piling on in this country... Mortenson deserves the RESPECT of being able to present his case fully. Krakauer conveniently presented his expose at a time when GM's health was at it's lowest point (open heart surgery, anyone?). Again, nice work. And people admire him for it. WOW. No questions asked.
Thanks,
Safida Begum
safida.begum2009@gmail.com
cell # 832 288 7536
http://m.billingsgazette.com/mobile/article_d324887a-a7f8-11e0-beed-001cc4c002e0.html
CAI DROPPED FROM MONTANA LAWSUIT
20 June 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Central Asia Institute has been dropped from a lawsuit filed last month against the organization and its executive director, Greg Mortenson.
The amended complaint was filed in federal court in Missoula, Montana on Friday, June 17. It is actually the second formal amendment of the complaint in the case, and eliminates both CAI and one of the original plaintiffs, Jean Price, from the lawsuit. "We are bolstered by this news. CAI's mission is better served without trial lawyers and the expense of litigation," said Anne Beyersdorfer, CAI's interim executive director.
Mortenson, who is under doctors' orders to rest following open-heart surgery earlier this month, was not available for comment on the development.